678 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
October 5 
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‘ Ruralisttis ^ 
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NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
WoKTiiY American Gannas. —The 
Ganna thrives everywhere during warm 
weather, if given rich soil and plenty of 
moisture, but the floral effect is most 
brilliant in sheltered situations where 
the great trusses of bloom are measur¬ 
ably protected from brisk winds. Al¬ 
though extensively used for massive bed¬ 
ding effects about the breezy coast re¬ 
sorts, making a distant show of tropical 
luxuriance and glowing color unequaled 
by any other plant, one must go to some 
quiet place in the interior to find large 
masses of blooms in good condition 
throughout the day in average weather. 
The writer lately visited the Ganna 
fields of the Gonard & Jones Gompany, 
West Grove, Pa., for the purpose of 
comparing varieties. The Ganna seems 
to find just what it needs in the clay 
loam soils covering the limestone slopes 
of this locality, and nowhere can more 
deeply tinted foliage nor livelier colors 
in the blooms be seen. Nearly eight 
acres are planted to Gannas, this splen¬ 
did plant being an especial favorite with 
Antoine Wintzer, . manager of the 
grounds, who has worked for years in 
the line of Ganna improvement with a 
single-hearted interest very rare among 
horticultural originators. Seedlings and 
hybrids to the number of 20,000 and up¬ 
wards are raised every year, and selec¬ 
tions carefully made for future compari¬ 
son. The practice is to inter-cross the 
finest varieties of diverse specific paren¬ 
tage, with the definite end in view of 
producing types specially adapted for 
American conditions. The range of color 
is being constantly extended and diver¬ 
sified, and the habit of growth and fin¬ 
ish of bloom brought nearer perfection. 
I he color effects of the immense blocks 
of favorite varieties was almost over¬ 
whelming in intensity, and made a start¬ 
ling contrast with the deep green of the 
surrounding woodlands. Among the 
many new varieties of special merit not 
yet disseminated are several with bright 
orange or scarlet fiowers on deep mul¬ 
berry foliage, the first dark-leaved Gan¬ 
nas we have seen bearing first-class 
blooms, a new white-fiowered variety, 
very vigorous and profuse in bloom, and 
some very beautiful striped and flamed 
sorts of dwarf growth. 
The following varieties, originated by 
Mr. Wintzer, are now in commerce, and 
have been repeatedly tested on the rtural 
Grounds. They are reliable and among 
the very best of their respective colors: 
Pillar of Fire; six to seven feet; erect 
truss; early bloomer; brilliant scarlet. 
Philadelphia; three to four feet, rich, 
shining intense crimson. 
Duke of Marlborough; three to four 
feet, dark maroon crimson. 
Black Prince; four to five feet, large, 
deep maroon. 
Maiden’s Blush; three to four feet, 
light, peachy pink. 
West Grove; three to four feet, deep 
coral pink, very vigorous and free 
blooming. 
Martha Washington; three feet, deep 
rosy pink, large flowers carried in dense 
heads. 
Betsy Ross; two to three feet, bright, 
clear pink, probably the finest of its 
color. 
Buttercup; three feet, deep golden yel¬ 
low, very constant and reliable. 
Goi-onet; 3% to four fedt, light pure 
yellow. 
Queen Eleanor; two to three feet, yel¬ 
low, thickly spotted with brownish-red. 
Admiral Schley; one to 2% feet, scar¬ 
let mottled and edged with yellow. 
Niagara; two to 2% feet, crimson, 
much mottled and very broadly edged 
with deep yellow flowers of great sub¬ 
stance. 
Mt. j®tna; three to four feet, dark 
purple foliage, large crimson scarlet 
flowers. 
Alsace; four to five feet, large trusses 
of creamy-white flowers, deep-green fo¬ 
liage; very good for masses. 
Queen of Holland; three feet, dark 
bronzy marbled .foliage, large well- 
formed flowers, bright clear orange. 
Pennsylvania: six to seven feet, im¬ 
mense dark green foliage, flowers five 
to six inches across, pure bright scarlet. 
A product of Rural Grounds hybridiza¬ 
tion, disseminated by this firm. It is 
a dilute hybrid of Ganna flaccida and 
apparently the best of the type. 
The handsomest foliage Ganna seen 
here, and probably the best in cultiva¬ 
tion, is Black Beauty, which originated 
several years ago in Washington, D. G. 
It is probably a seedling of the old Gan¬ 
na discolor, and is certainly no better 
in bloom, but the rich dark plum-colored 
foliage gracefully fluted at the edges 
makes it very attractive at all times. 
Black Beauty needs good culture to 
bring out its full beauty, and though be¬ 
fore the public for several years has not 
become common owing to its slow prop¬ 
agation. The blooms are so insignifi¬ 
cant that tney are best cut, away as soon 
as they appear. 
The Goi-oen “Breeding Heart.”— 
The beautiful Japan bleeding heart. Di¬ 
centra spectabilis, so commonly grown 
in old gardens, is one of the most fa¬ 
miliar and useful of hardy herbaceous 
plants. Most country people are aware 
that two near relatives of this attractive 
plant grow naturally in rich woodland 
throughout eastern North America. 
They are popularly known as squirrel 
com, D. Ganadensis, from the maize¬ 
like little tubers, and Dutchman’s 
breeches, D. cucullaria. Both have 
handsome, finely cut foliage and nearly 
white flowers, the first tipped with rose 
and the latter pale yellow. D. eximia, 
from the mountains of Virginia, has 
large rose-colored blooms and rich¬ 
ly cut foliage, probably the handsomest 
of all our hardy plants. All the aoove 
are in commerce, and may be had from 
most plant dealei’s, but the golden-flow¬ 
ered D. chrysantha of Galifornia is sel¬ 
dom cultivated. Seeds were procured 
through the kindness of Garl Purdy, 
Santa Rosa, Gal., who stated that they 
were gathered from plants growing on 
dry hills, in localities where there was 
little hard frost. They remained a year 
in the soil before germinating, but grew 
rapidly after starting, making s'tout- 
branching plants about 14 inches high. 
The foliage is bluish green and very 
handsomely cut. The flower spikes be¬ 
gan to appear in July, and a little group 
of nine plants has not been without 
bloom up to the middle of September. 
The flowers are of the usual heart shape, 
bright golden yellow with an orange- 
brown blotch. They are very small, 
however, compared with the common 
bleeding heart, and the racemes stand 
quite stiffly erect, not bending with the 
graceful curve associated with the gar¬ 
den species. As many as 50 blooms are 
sometimes produced in a panicle, but 
the effect is not as showy as one would 
expect from the fine color. Mr. Purdy 
thinks D. chrysantha will prove of 
doubtful hardiness in the East, but an 
effort will be made to carry our plants 
over with good protection. 
New Eauly Peaoh, Miss Lola. —Fig. 
205 represents a good specimen of the 
new early peach, Miss Lola, received 
from J. H. Black, Son & Go., Hights- 
town, N. J. It is a round white-fleshed 
peach with a clear pink and white skin, 
and a slight clingstone, which seems to 
become more marked in wet seasons 
Messrs. Black say that the tree is a good 
grower and bears well. It comes in be¬ 
fore Early Rivers, and just after Greens¬ 
boro. The quality of the specimen il¬ 
lustrated was very good, better in fact 
than either of the two varieties above- 
named. The Messrs. Black regard it as 
about the best of its early season. 
_ W. V. F. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
FINE QUALITY IN PLUMS. 
A remark in the paper of Mr. Garfield, 
of Michigan, presented at the recent 
meeting of the American Pomologicai 
Society, while not new, is worthy of 
serious consideration. His remark in 
the form of a query was: “Are we en¬ 
couraging the consumption of fruit by 
growing and selling in quantity Ben 
Davis apples and Kieffer pears?” Is it 
not a shortsighted policy to continue the 
cultivation of this type of ^ruit to the 
exclusion of others which, though prob¬ 
ably less productive, are much finer in 
quality? It has been conceded on all 
sides that the introduction of the Ja¬ 
pan plums has proved a great boon to 
fruit growers and fruit consumers in 
America. While the fruit is exceeding¬ 
ly handsome, and the trees are produc¬ 
tive, yet in a fruit-sampling expedition 
in which I was engaged a day or two 
ago, I could not help thinking after test¬ 
ing many of these Japan plums, that 
after all, when one wanted something 
really delicious and something which 
would stimulate the appetite rather 
than cloy it, one had to select a variety 
of the Domestica type, such as Ooe, 
Washington or Green Gage. A Ghabot 
or a Burbank did not arouse a keen 
desire for more of the same kind, but 
the case was different with Rein:' 
Glaude and Jefferson. 
It has been frequently stated that if 
tne Japan type did not prove in itself 
to be exactly what we wanted, it had 
in it the qualities which would make 
it valuable in crossing with our native 
species. This may be so, but we have 
little so far as I have seen to strengthen 
the truth of this assertion in the many 
liybrids which have already been pro¬ 
duced. On the Gornell Experiment Sta¬ 
tion grounds there are fruiting at the 
present time a large number of Nor- 
mand’s hybrids, which are crosses be¬ 
tween the Japans and varieties of 
Ghickasaw. The trees are intermediate 
in habit, are fairly productive, and the 
fruit is usually handsome in appearance, 
and combines in quality the piquancy 
of the Angustifolia with some of the 
solidity of flesh of the Japan, but the 
combination so far as flavor is concern¬ 
ed cannot be said to be desirable. There 
is an insipidity to the flavor which we 
do not like. The skin is also so thin 
that it obviates the possibility of these 
fruits having any special commercial 
value. After testing these hybrids 1 am 
led to the opinion that a more profitable 
line of experiment would be to cross the 
Japan with the American strain. Pos¬ 
sibly by doing this a firmer skin and a 
higher flavor might be secured. A few 
crosses of this kind are already on trial, 
and appear to warrant the assumption 
that greater success will follow this line 
than the Ghickasaw combination. We, 
at this stage, need quality, and it seems 
to me that quality and flavor should 
form one of the principal characteristics 
considered in selecting new varieties. 
We should not forget that eventually 
such fruit is to be eaten, and that if it 
is not palatable it will fail ultimately, 
however useful it may be for decorative 
purposes. john craig. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
■ ‘a sq uare deal. ’ ’ See our guarantee 8th page. 
Men may come 
and men may 
go, but an 
Elgin 
Watch 
goes on forever. 
An Elgin Watch always 
has the word “Elgin” en¬ 
graved on the works. Send 
for free booklet. 
ELGIN NATIONAL WATCH CO. 
Elgin, 111. 
THE CHAIN-HANGING 
Cattle Stanchion 
The tuoHt practical and humane Fastener ever In¬ 
vented. Gives perfect freedom of i he head. I llustrated 
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by O. H. KOHEKTSON, JForestvllle, Conn. 
Wilder’s Stanchion 
—DoiTif? ani raprovement over 
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stanchion. Send for testimonials. 
J, K. WILDER* SONS, 
The BEST Cattle 
Fastening. 
SMITH'S Self- 
Adjusting Swing 
Stanchion. The only 
Practical swing stan¬ 
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sands In nse. lUust’d 
Circular tree. 
GLBNORA MI'G. CO., 
Glenora, Yates County, 
NY. lufriugemente 
wlU be prosecuted. 
FENCE WIRE AT WHOLESALE 
Send for price-list and free catalog of Wire Fences & 
Supplies. W. n. MASON & CO., Box 67, Leesburg, O. 
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if you want PAGE Fence, unless it Is The PAGE. 
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THE PAST EXPERIENCE HAS PROVEN 
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that a satisfactory wire fence must contain the 
weight and strength necessary to turn all kinds of 
stock, and to last a lifetime. The Frost Fence is 
what you are looking for. 
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THE MIETZ & WEISS 
Kerosene Engines 
Cheapest and Safest Power 
Known. For pumping and 
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corn, separating cream, 
sawing wood, and aU power 
purposes. Send for Catalog. 
A. MIETZ, 
128 Mott Street, New York. 
hameee, old or new, is made pliable and easy—wlU look better 
and wear longer—by the use of 
Eureka Harness Oil 
The finest preservative for leather ever discovered. Save* 
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of re^irs. Bold everywhere in cans—all sizes. 
ll»de by STANDARD OIL OO. 
Every little girl loves a doll. How delighted 
she would be with a whole family of big dolls with 
which to “play house.” These dolls are nearly 
two feet high, have rosy cheeks, beautiful hair, 
heads tliat will not break, eyes Uiat will not fall 
in, nor suffer any of the mishaps tliat dollies are 
likely to encounter. Tliey are the 20th Century 
model of the old fasluoned doll that Grandma 
used to make, and would make Grandma open her 
eyes in wonder. They are made of extra heavy 
satteen tliat will not tear, and are dressed in bright 
colors that will not fade. They are very duraole 
and will give a child more real pleasure than any 
doll made. We will give these four beautiful dolls 
absolutely free for selling only five boxes of our 
Laxative Stomach Tablets at 25 cents a box. 
Write to-day and we will send the Tablets by mall 
postpaid. Wlien sold send us the money ($1.25) 
and we will send you the four dolls same day 
money is received. Address, 
NATIONAL MEDICINE CO., 
Premium Dept. 134 K, New Haven, Conn. 
